Homeless Advocates Name America's 'Meanest City'

[The Straight Story]

Homeless Advocates Name America's 'Meanest City'

POSTED: 2:55 pm EST January 12, 2006

WASHINGTON -- When it comes to the way it treats the homeless, the city of Sarasota, Fla., is being called the "meanest" in the country.

The label comes from the National Coalition for the Homeless, which is based in Washington, D.C.

The group says the rankings of the top 20 meanest cities in 2005 are based on one or more of the following criteria: the number of anti-homeless laws in the city, the enforcement of those laws and severities of penalties, the general political climate toward homeless people in the city, local advocate support for the meanest designation, the city’s history of criminalization measures, and the existence of pending or recently enacted criminalization legislation in the city.

Ranked second is Lawrence, Kan., followed by Little Rock, Ark., which used to be ranked as the meanest.

Other "mean" cities in the latest rankings include Atlanta, Las Vegas, Dallas and Houston. There's also San Juan, Puerto Rico; Santa Monica, Calif.; and Flagstaff, Ariz.

http://www.local6.com/news/6030597/detail.html

[devilgrrl]

1. Should come as no surprise that they're in Red States.

Gotta love that compassionate conservatism! :sarcasm:

[sui generis]

4. now now

red states tend to be warmer in the winter as a general rule, and poorer.

It is a problem when every single streetlight has multiple people, when you can't walk into a convenience store, fill your car at a gas station, or go in or out of a grocery store without people asking for money.

Not being heartless or agreeing with the "meanness" of these laws but if there are more of them then more laws with "good intentions" (road to hell and all that) tend to get made to appease the local constituencies.

I don't see you "blue states" putting out signs asking homeless people to come live with you either, Ms. Superiority. :P

[EFerrari]

6. Santa Monica is in CA. And they make a huge pretense

of being liberal. Bull! When I was there, there wasn't a single working class person on their city council.

[hunter]

39. Pretenses of being liberal...

I have similar feelings about Santa Monica. It's sort of a pretend world now.

But all the Southern California coastal cities are like that. It used to be that a student, fast food night manager, or a semi-skilled construction worker could rent an apartment just two or three blocks from the beach. I did.

But now it's all people with money. Most of the time I can't even guess where the money comes from. It's like someone opened up a tap swomewhere and all these nasty pretentious people flooded out all over the place.

[EFerrari]

41. Yep. Some of my neighbors were suspicious of me

because I cleaned my own house and tended my own garden.

Really strange.

[Horse with no Name]

9. Please don't mistake "panhandlers" for being homeless people

There is a huge difference--one being notably that all panhandlers aren't homeless.

[RaleighNCDUer]

19. And not all homeless are panhandlers.

There's more than a few homeless who work full time, but minimum wage just doesn't cut it.

[Horse with no Name]

21. Thank you for "getting it"

Homelessness and panhandling are two entirely different subjects.

[sui generis]

23. please spare me

you are lecturing on a tangent.

I completely understand what you are saying - I'm not attacking anyone or mischaracterizing anything, so this tangent is pointless.

The purpose of my reply was that there is likely a reason those laws exist in the south, that has nothing to do with being "Red" or "Blue".

jeez.

[Horse with no Name]

26. I never commented about "red or blue"

so please spare me.
When you gave an example--you didn't give an example of a homeless person, you gave an example of a panhandler.
However, the plight of homeless people is something that I have taken seriously for years.
One of the plights is the inevitable mischaracterization that homelessness and panhandling are interchangeable.
They aren't.

[sui generis]

29. you're still out of context

and you're grandstanding at my expense. The poster I replied to had mentioned it before you came swinging in on your vine yodeling in swahili about how many times I beat my wife.

If you're going to reply to a thread, read the whole thread and reply to the entire context.

You're grandstanding. I'm calling you on it.

[Horse with no Name]

33. Grandstanding?

Oh please.
I called you on your mischaracterization.
I live in Texas. I'm ashamed of how we treat our homeless.
The poster you responded to didn't mention panhandling.
She mentioned the red state/blue state and compassionate conservatism.
You then mischaracterized homeless people as panhandlers in your example.
You were wrong. I called you on THAT.

[sui generis]

37. three, two,

nevermind.

I live in Texas too. I am not an MSSW but I lived with one for ten years - and helped write his MSSW specializing in indigent issues because I enjoyed it and was interested in it. I don't know where you got on your damn High Horse With No Name But With Lots of Attitude, and I really don't care.

I am willing to ADD homeless and/or panhandlers to that statement but either you are being intentionally dense or you really are just grandstanding to hear the sound of your own typing.

We are on the same side toots. I'll give you a free pass on this one if you can talk to me about your involvement in CCGD here in Dallas, otherwise you ARE grandstanding. If you think I'm ignorant of the issues then I certainly won't beat around the bush with how that changes what I think of you.

I hope that's not the case. Stop grandstanding, I'm not backing down.

[Horse with no Name]

38. The example YOU gave was one of a panhandler

not of a homeless person. Period.
Now you challenge me to a duel?
You will give ME a pass?
Too rich.
Sorry. Think what you will. I don't need your approval.
You made a misleading statement. I called you on it.
It was done for nothing more or nothing less other than to educate. Obviously I have no idea of your credentials--just like you have no idea of mine.
We'll leave it at that.
No high horses involved although the grandstanding I am seeing is coming from your side of the keyboard.

[sui generis]

42. when I shallawnge you to a dewell it is

usually tongue in cheek.

good grief.

You implied that I was an insensitive ignoramus. I guess you just expect me to agree?

Let's try this again some other time. High Horse With No Name. It was funny. Admit it.

[Horse with no Name]

45. I never implied such a thing

Nor do I think such a thing.
As I said--what I pointed out was for nothing more or less than for education purposes.
I don't have a problem with you or your views, I never have.
Right now on my 15th day of the flu, I find little to admit to being funny.
My apologies if the line was crossed.

[sui generis]

47. sorry about the flu

I know I was pretty crabby with it over New Years, wandering around the house in peejays with a back injury and coughing to boot. Other Mr. Sui said I was going to get an oscar for my rendition of "BrokeAss Mountain". I damn near starved to death because he does NOT cook, and I was mean as a bobcat with no asshole.

Maybe he was TRYING to starve me to death. Hmmmmm. :think: Hope you get to feeling better -

-Sui

[Horse with no Name]

48. Thank you.

"was mean as a bobcat with no asshole."

:wow:

[sui generis]

44. on your first point though

some homeless people panhandle. Period. Some panhandlers are homeless. For the record, although I understand the difference, it is the general public away from DU that doesn't.

"Educating" me with this tactic is misplaced effort if you really care - there are people who really don't understand the difference. Out there.

[sui generis]

20. not sure I get your point in this context

part of the criteria for those laws is how panhandlers are treated.

Plus the two sets have a large intersection, numerically speaking. They are not exclusive.

[QC]

34. That's rich coming from someone whose governor is a B-movie

muscleman/sexual predator. You have no room for smugness or sanctimony, friend, until you deal with some problems close to home.

[EFerrari]

2. They are right about Santa Monica. Sta Monica

doesn't want any messy poor people messing up their little delusion.

I couldn't WAIT to leave there.

:puke:

[Ivote]

3. Sarasota = Katherine Harris

No Wonder. So what has she done lately in her million dollar condo?
:kick:

[txindy]

7. Oh, please, I don't want to know!

Someone might provide imagery I'd really rather NOT have seared on to my imagination for life, thankyouverymuch!

:rofl:

[DBoon]

5. Used to be friendlier in the 1980's

Bob Meyers was city attorney and insisted that the homeless be treated properly.

Part of the old "People's Republic of Santa Monica" thing.

[EFerrari]

8. We lived there for three years, 2000-2003 (hence my user name)

And, the culture just boggled my mind. I hated leaving my friends, but I guess there was just no adapting to the culture.

[Saturday]

11. Santa Monica has a

huge homeless population. Their park downtown is loaded with the homeless. I can't believe they are 'mean' to their homeless.

[EFerrari]

15. Then you've never been homeless in Santa Monica. n/t

[hunter]

40. Don't fall asleep in your car there.

Just some advice. Especially if it's a crappy old car.

[Sequoia]

13. It used to be such a nice little town

until big business moved in and got rid of those little hotels that fronted the beach. Now they have these huge 5 star hotels you can barely see the water from Ocean Blvd. I had rent control so I was pretty jazzed. I don't live there anymore.

[EFerrari]

17. I noticed the change. My bro lived there (musician) and

I used to drive down to see him. By the time I moved there, it was as if someone had sucked the soul right out of the town.

Well, communities go through changes, I guess. There are a lot of wonderful activists in that neighborhood.

[Horse with no Name]

10. I wish people would realize how "mean" some folks are

working inner city Dallas trauma, you wouldn't believe the number of homeless people that were brought to the hospital who were bashed in the skull for doing nothing except sleep.
I had a unique opportunity to hear some of the stories of the homeless people and how they got to that station in life, and believe me, it is only a stone's throw away for many Americans.

[EFerrari]

14. We had a homeless person die in one of our shelters

on Christmas Eve. The shelter personnel didn't know CPR although they are supposed to be trained. It was just desvastating for everyone -- including the poor untrained shelter staff. :(

[Horse with no Name]

18. Incredibly sad

You have to love the people that volunteer to work in the shelters because much of the time, their job is one that most wouldn't do.
I sincerely hope they use this as an positive thing by insuring all the workers are properly trained in CPR instead of punishing those involved.
Truth be told, the majority of folks that drop dead outside the hospital need to be shocked because of a lethal rhythm that CPR cannot correct anyway.

[EFerrari]

25. I believe that everyone involved is more interested

in meeting this deficit than in pointing fingers.

Gavin has sort of danced away from the issue -- on the other hand, his cup must overflow from the hand-me-downs that originate in the * White House.

I'm very encouraged about how this city is responding to our homeless neighbors. And, I hope we can do better.

[Horse with no Name]

28. Is there any chance of getting a portable defibrillator in the shelter?

They need that just as much as they people trained to administer CPR.
President Clinton started the ball rolling, but like everything else of value, it seems to have fallen by the wayside.
http://wwwp.medtronic.com/Newsroom/NewsReleaseDetails.do?itemId=1095888957871&lang=en_US
REDMOND, WA, Nov.15, 2000 - President Clinton signed into law the nation's first legislation recognizing the lifesaving role played by automated external defibrillators (AEDs). The new measure requires federal action that is expected to accelerate the widespread use of AEDs in the battle against sudden cardiac arrest, one of the nation's leading killers. Cardiac arrest is a major U.S. health problem and causes about 225,000 sudden deaths each year among U.S. adults.

The new law, called the Cardiac Arrest Survival Act, highlights the need for making AEDs, easy-to-use, portable lifesaving devices, the "standard of care" for emergency cardiac situations in public gathering places such as airports, shopping malls, stadiums, convention centers, schools and office buildings.

The new legislation requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop recommendations and guidelines for AED placement and use in federal buildings and augments existing state "Good Samaritan" laws by ensuring federal liability protection for users and purchasers of AEDs. The measure also establishes a new three-year, $25 million program to improve access to emergency defibrillation in rural areas.

Sudden cardiac arrest can strike anyone, anywhere and at any time and is usually caused by ventricular fibrillation, an ineffective quivering of the heart muscle that makes it unable to pump blood throughout the body. Once blood stops circulating, victims quickly lose consciousness and will die within minutes if they don't receive effective treatment. Each day, nearly 1,000 Americans suffer from sudden cardiac arrest - usually away from a hospital. More than 95 percent of them die, in many cases, because lifesaving defibrillators arrive on the scene too late, if at all.

[EFerrari]

30. You know, I have no idea. I will ask my editor who is hands on

in much of our civic discussion on this.

Great idea! If there's no money, we can do a benefit and raise the dough.

:toast:

[Horse with no Name]

35. Here is a decent Lifepak

$2500. You can spend over $10k, but something like this would do just fine.
http://www.medicalsupply4sale.com/products.cfm/Emergency/DefibrillatorsAEDs/MEDTRONIC-PHYSIO-CONTROL---Physio-Control-LifePak-11-Defibrillator-Monitor-and-Pacemaker-243.html
Good luck!

[EFerrari]

36. Thank you for this great idea and for the info!

:applause:

[SoCalDem]

32. .Every human has to eat, sleep,and eliminate waste. SOMEWHERE

People who have places to live, have those issues solved, but when there is no money to pay for those things, and no family to take you in, just WHAT do you do? Vanish into thin air?

Towns and cities need to tackle the problem head on, not obliquely though charities & churches.

Whatever brought these people to a city/town is a moot issue.. they are THERE, and have no money to move anywhere else. It's time to deal with them.

Most of these people are NOT candidates for a work program. Most of these people are damaged people..addicts, alcoholics, veterans with PTSD, unemployed poor people, people with mental problems of varying kinds.

The only thing that would "rescue" these people would be to provide bathrooms and showers in discreet places for them to maintain themselves somewhat and structures where they could get in out of the elements.

It seems like a no-brainer, but people are not easily "herded" into specific areas willingly.

There was a time when they were "kept" (often against their wills) in mental facilities. Reagan thought they should be "freed" (meaning no more obligation to support these folks monetarily), and so they were...onto the city streets to wander like stray animals looking for handouts.

part of the problem is that people who offer help, often do it with long strings attached. The money given in aid to homeless can NEVER be "earned by them". Most are incapable of doing that, and to expect it, is silly.

These are the true underclass people and since they need to eat, sleep and eliminate every day, we can either help them do it in a civilized way, or they will find other ways..

It's just that simple. (and impossible ..)

[Jon8503]

12. Lawrence Kansas listed as #2 on the list, Whoa, rather strange

for a University town.

[Gilmore]

51. I think that is rather strange too..

I mean who took the poll anyway? In my humble opinion I think that we've treated them just like everybody else. I have never seen anyone in Lawrence act that way towards the homeless.
Not too happy about that..

[Warpy]

16. Gee, large populations of well heeled yuppies and

lots of churchgoers in all those places. Well, mercy me, what a shocker.

[Quetzal]

22. I'm suprised Honolulu isn't on the top 20 list

the state and local governments have been forcing out the homeless in many areas on O'ahu. The police have been evicting ethnic Hawaiians from beaches on the western side of the island and forcing many of the homeless out of urban Honolulu, especially Ala Moana park. The government wants Waikiki to look "clean" and "pretty" for all the tourists. However, many of homeless are regular people just like you and me - they have just been forced out of an extremely tight rental market. Most of them even have jobs.

I live and work in a suburb of Honolulu that is up in the mountains. Within the last year or so, there have been many homeless people migrating from the city into the suburb. I am pretty sure that they are living up in the forests and come down into the suburb when they need food and water. The only reason why they are coming up into the mountains is because they have nowhere else to go.

[Quetzal]

50. summaries of the top 20 meanest to homeless cities

http://www.nationalhomeless.org/publications/crimreport/meanestcities.html

[Blue_In_AK]

24. I'm not really sure why Anchorage is #16 on this list...

We have a good shelter, Bean's Cafe for free meals, a community service patrol that watches for public inebriates and takes them to a sleep-off center, Covenant House for the teenagers. Our food bank distributes tons of food. Maybe it's because a new law was recently passed making it illegal to give to panhandlers IN the street, and the homeless camps in the woods are periodically broken up, but by and large I think our city government is trying hard to help people out. Maybe these people know something I don't. :shrug:

[rainbow4321]

27. Dallas went from #15 to #6 ( Mayor: "They're only looking at the laws")

The city is infamous for knocking them down.

Back when there was some huge soccer game/tournament in town and people from around the world were expected, they razed the camp that was under the overpasses of I30 and I45 and then put a huge wired fence around it to keep the homeless form seeking shelter from the weather, etc.. during the time that the out of towners were here. "Homeless? What homeless, Dallas has none..really".
Police are STILL destroying the camp...newly donated tents and all.
-------------------

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-meancity_12met.ART0.State.Edition1.18870f08.html

Dallas moved up from No. 15 on the homeless advocates' last report in November 2004. The study states that Dallas ranked sixth because of an ordinance banning anyone from possessing a shopping cart off the cart owner's property, restrictions on feeding the homeless and repeated razing of encampments.

But Mayor Laura Miller and others said the label was unfair – especially given that voters recently approved $23.8 million in bonds to build a homeless assistance center. "We're doing great things. And they're not considering them at all," she said. "They're only looking at the laws – that's all. It's unfortunate, because I think we're doing such a terrific job in how we're addressing the homeless."

<snip>

"Dallas has had a long, sorry history of criminalizing homelessness," said Michael Stoops, acting executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless.


Homeless people living under the roar of the Interstate 45 overpass south of downtown said Wednesday that Dallas has many kind and generous residents who make sure they have basic necessities, including food and tents. But they agreed with the study's findings that the city's ordinances make it a crime to be homeless. Residents said Dallas police visited the large camp on Friday, arresting people with outstanding warrants and ripping up newly donated tents.

[EFerrari]

31. I caught our mayor redhanded once, doing such a raid.

His communications guy denied the mayor even knew about it -- but, I know he did because I called *while* the raid was in progress. :(

When you realize how many people are functionally homeless, and that single moms with kids are the most rapidly expanding demographic, you *have* to know that raids and passing laws that make it illegal to feed the homeless (as Santa Monica did) simply are not acceptable.

[Terran1212]

43. My capital of Atlanta needs NUMBER 1

Extreme capital for secret security (sister in homeland security) and corporations (Coke and new Aquarium), none for the poor.

Even the cops mock the poor.

[SammyWinstonJack]

46. Texas is pretty much covered

Dallas Houston Austin and San Antonio. How depressing.

[leftofthedial]

49. nearly a clean sweep for bush country cities

and all that compassionate conservatism

[d_b]

52. Anchorage?

heh.